Former Seahouses First School site

COUNCILLOR’S UPDATE: The area’s county councillor Guy Renner-Thompson updated members on various issues.

Firstly, he discussed the former Seahouses First School site. He said that a party has shown interest in the ex-Busy Bees temporary building.

He also said that the county council is in talks with Ad Hoc Property Management about implementing the property-guardians initiative at the former first school.

Under the scheme, tenants pay a minimal monthly fee to live at the site. Ad Hoc says the initiative helps to protect empty buildings by bringing them back into use and tackles the problem of housing shortages and high rents.

Coun Renner-Thompson is urging people to register an interest in the scheme. He wants to prevent the site from having to be fenced off.

In a previous report in the Gazette, Coun Renner-Thompson said that the property-guardians scheme was an ‘innovative solution to the problem of empty buildings, which keeps costs down for the council-tax payer and means a much-loved building continues to provide something to the community’.

Visit www.adhocproperty.co.uk for more details and to register an interest.